Cleveland Music in the 70's & 80's

Ponderosa Twins + One Guitarist Kenneth Redon

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Cleveland Music in the 70's & 80's

Here, I'll introduce the photos on this page. The page includes four photos right now, but I can add more if I like.

In 1985 I produced a song called "SUPERSTAR" it was only in 6 markerts on the east coast

Prelude was going out of business at the time. The song is now on a Prelude Rare CD sold out of Montreal Canada. The band was a studio band with Kenneth Redon on keyboard, Tommy Miller on keyboards, Russel Thompson on sax & Tony Henderson on the rap.

It was a kind of spin off of Lionel Richie's "Running in the Night".

The band was called Force & Masterjam

In 1970 I played in a high school band with Dunn Pearson Jr., Ernest Cary the 3rd, Benny Slocum, Robert English & Booker T Hollins we had 2 names the Shades of Soul and The 9th St Exit...That name was given to us by Bobby Massey a former card carrying member of the Ojays who Produced the Ponerosa Twins + One. There's one secret I know about that group the lead vocals one "You Send Me" was sang by Mark Anthony of the Elements, I was there.lol...Anyway we backed up the Ponderosa twins for 3 years until there voices changed.

I traveled all over the country with them.

Dunn Pearson Jr.became a nationally known arranger joining the Ojays band 1974 and moving to New Jersey. Bobby English recently recieved his masters in music, and move to California.

We also backed up a group called the Imperial Wonders another group Bobby Massey was producing at the time, they where a Temptation type group very good I quit my job at Republic Steel to back these guys up thinking we where gonna make it, and I was just the guitar player. The club we played the most in Cleveland was called The Golden Cocktail Club on Miles Rd.

It seems all the clubs I ever played in Cleveland are closed since the 70's.

The Imperial Wonders are still recording CD's today out in Los Angeles, Ca. Al Boyd has always been a excellent writer, Russel still hitting them tenor notes, with Leroy on lead vocals.

In the Heat of the Night was cut in 1983 I ripped off Micheal Jackson's "Beat It" the guy who was putting up the money for the project said "Give me something like Quincy Jones", so I did and Sherena Wynn sang it and it got a deal on Becket Records...Also a division of Sultra the Fat Boyz label at the time.This tune made billboards top 100 r&b. But the funny part to this song is the instrumental with Russel Thompson playing sax recieved more air play than the female lead singing part.

Russel went on to play for Levert after the tune faded, and Sherena Wynn became a Gerald Levert backup vocalist.

So that was my little claim to fame, in the 90's I settled down got married and worked for Delphi Packard Electric I took the easy way out doing weddings and private parties while making 70k a year with benefits.

Most of my musician friends have passed away(Ernie Cary, Benny Slocum, Gerald Baxter, Gerald Levert, Sean Levert, Issac Hayes) or are broke living off of someone not even carrying there own weight, it's a ruff life for a musician I see one of the ex members of 9th St Exit playing sax outside Cleveland Indian games, I pray for the brother everytime I see him.

Thank You Lord: